When UFC put together this card, their desire was to host this in London, honoring the homeland of Darren Till, the onetime UFC Welterweight Championship challenger. Due to the restrictions associated with international travel that remain in place for COVID-19, though, getting the fight to the UK proved impossible, and so Saturday’s action will take place in Las Vegas at the UFC APEX facility. Till meets Derek Brunson in a middleweight fight that serves as the headliner. The co-main event is a heavyweight showdown between Sergey Spivak and Tom Aspinall.
In our UFC betting preview, we have the full card along with wagering insights about the key fights.
UFC Fight Night 191: Brunson vs Till Preview
Main Card (ESPN+)
Derek Brunson vs Darren Till (Middleweight)
Tom Aspinall vs Sergey Spivak (Heavyweight)
Alex Morono vs David Zawada (Welterweight)
Modestas Bukauskas vs Khalil Rountree Jr (Light Heavyweight)
Paddy Pimblett vs Luigi Vendramini (Lightweight)
Preliminary Card (ESPN+)
Molly McCann vs Ji Yeon Kim (Women’s Flyweight)
Jack Shore vs Liudvik Sholinian (Bantamweight)
Julian Erosa vs Charles Jourdain (Catchweight – 150 lbs)
Dalcha Lungiambula vs Marc-Andre Barriault (Middleweight)
Jonathan Martinez vs Marcelo Rojo (Bantamweight)
Darren Till (18-3-1, 6-3-1 UFC, -180) vs Derek Brunson (22-7, 13-5 UFC, +158) has an established UFC fighter who is still an enigma in Till. His early years in the promotion were mixed, but then he knocked out Donald “Cowboy” Cerrone in the first round of a main event in which he was called in at the last minute. He got the chance to challenge Tyron Woodley for the UFC Welterweight belt, but Woodley had an easy time dancing to the win — and then Till got obliterated by Jorge Masvidal. After that, he moved up to middleweight. He beat Kelvin Gastelum on the cards, relying on savvy and defense. He lost to Robert Whittaker, showing moments of promise but overall failing to deliver.
Brunson is a fighter on the rise — which is an anomaly for someone at the age of 37. He started out as a strong wrestler with an iffy striking game, but then he knocked out Ed Herman in 2015 and decided to ride his striking game as far as it could take him. That led to an ugly knockout loss to Robert Whittaker. After that, his fighting style turned into a breakneck pursuit of the knockout, which would either work — or end up with him getting taken apart due to his inattention to defense. In 2019, though, he figured things out, using a diverse style to get decision wins over Edmen Shahbazyan and KEvin Holland. Till has historically relied on his ability to intimidate opponents with his size, but Brunson is his first opponent who has comparable stature. Given the value available in what is a difficult fight to handicap, I’m going with the underdog.
Final Prediction:
Brunson wins via decision
Tom Aspinall (10-2, 3-0 UFC, -270) vs Sergey Spivak (13-2, 4-2 UFC, +230) matches a couple of prospects in the heavyweight division who are not yet 30. Aspinall hails from Liverpool and has wowed observers in just over a year with the promotion. In his first four fights after his comeback, he delivered stoppage finishes in no more than 95 seconds each time. When he took on Andrei Arlovski, things looked solid in the first round, but then Arlovski started to get an upper hand in the second round. Aspinall sensed the danger and took the fight to the ground, winning via rear-naked choke submission.
Spivak is a last-minute substitution in this fight, and he comes in with a two-fight winning streak. Spivak did not impress in his UFC debut, getting knocked out in just 50 seconds by Walt Harris. After that, though, he delivered an upset victory over Tai Tuivasa. Spivak has an impressive collection of throws and trips — but he can also run into a big wall in terms of cardio. The longer the fight, though, the greater the edge for Spivak, as Aspinall tends to wear out even more quickly. The way Aspinall has managed to adjust, though, makes him the worthy favorite.
Final Prediction:
Aspinall via knockout
UFC Betting Odds
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